For over 35 years, Tony has been pursuing and developing these ideas on the 5700 acre (2,300 hectares) farm, Mulloon Creek Natural Farms. He has been on a journey of learning how to restore his own land to optimal health. He visited many non-conventional farms around the world, learning all he could until he arrived at the conclusion that a holistic and biological approach to land management would provide economic, environmental and social benefits.

With this knowledge and dedication, Tony began the process of converting his farm to a productive, healthy state using holistic farming principles.

During this time speaking with farm operators and scientists around the world, Tony gathered many enthusiastic supporters and highly experienced experts to the cause, including the Australian National University, who began using the farm for research projects. Transforming his land from a degraded and unproductive state to a thriving, lush and healthy system had become Tony’s life passion. He was adamant that Mulloon Creek Natural Farms must be protected to be an example for the benefit of future generations.

Food is a product of the environment it was grown in, and can only be as good as the soil, water and other inputs that went into its production.

In 2011, with inspirational demonstrations of how humans can help nature to not only survive - but to thrive, Tony formally launched The Mulloon Institute with the bequest of the entire 5,700 acres of Mulloon Creek Natural Farms for the continuation of long-term research and demonstration in perpetuity.

Tony passed away peacefully on Wednesday 8 August 2018 aged 79. While he may have passed onto another place, he will live on forever in the rehydrated landscapes that The Mulloon Institute will restore into the future.

About The Mulloon Institute

The Mulloon Institute is a research, education and advocacy organisation located 40 minutes drive east from central Canberra. It actively regenerates landscapes and both demonstrates and shares regenerative methods of land management. We use our research results and education tools to create sustainable, resilient landscapes, to help provide Australia with long-term water and food security, and to create a model adaptable to other countries.

The Institute is located on and has perpetual and unlimited tenure of Mulloon Creek Natural Farms comprising 2,300 hectares, in perpetuity for use as a living sustainable laboratory for the Institute’s work.

The Mulloon Institute is an independent not-for-profit registered environmental organisation with Deductable Gift Recipient (DGR) status and charitable goals anchored in its constitution.

Our Holistic Approach

We are acutely aware of the multifaceted challenges which need to be overcome to successfully reverse current land management trends and start rebuilding our environmental support systems. Only a holistic approach integrating the biophysical factors of the ecology with the social factors influencing rural communities and the economic returns of landholders and society will produce the momentum required for the necessary large-scale change.

At The Mulloon Institute we are building resilience into our environmental systems and re-establishing the vital links between sustainable agriculture, healthy nutrition and productive communities through leading edge land regeneration projects, applied research, education and the creation of public awareness.

We’re about inspiring people to make a difference, believing that every regenerated inch of land contributes to the overall health of the soil we so vitally need, and in turn the wellbeing of us all. The Mulloon Institute leads community projects, working towards whole of catchment improvement. The scientific and educational models used are based on 30 years experience re-generating Mulloon Creek Natural Farms, which has become the ‘living sustainable laboratory’ of The Mulloon Institute.

Our Mission

To actively demonstrate and share regenerative practices of water, soil and vegetation management that create sustainable, resilient environments and serve the needs of the present without compromising those of future generations.

Our Vision

To build a resilient Australian landscape which produces the water, soil and biodiversity required to provide food and water security for the Australian population in the short and long term.

Our Goals

We have set ourselves a target of making 100 landscape rehydration projects happen in the next 10 years. We cannot do this alone; that is why we inspire leaders, particularly in rural communities, business and government to actively invest in sustainable methods to heal the land.